What Is Penetration Testing?
Penetration testing (pentesting) is authorized simulated attacks on systems to find security vulnerabilities before real attackers do. Pentesters use the same tools and techniques as attackers — scanning for open ports, testing for SQL injection, attempting privilege escalation — then report findings with fixes.
How Penetration Testing Works
A typical pentest: reconnaissance (map the attack surface), scanning (find open ports and services), exploitation (attempt to breach), post-exploitation (assess damage potential), reporting (document findings with severity and remediation). Tools: Burp Suite, Metasploit, nmap, OWASP ZAP.
Key Concepts
- Black Box Testing — No knowledge of the system — simulates an external attacker
- White Box Testing — Full knowledge of the source code and architecture — finds deeper vulnerabilities
- OWASP Top 10 — The ten most critical web security risks — the standard checklist for web application pentesting
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should we pentest?
At minimum annually and after major changes. Continuous security scanning (automated) should supplement periodic manual pentests.